We brought all The Minions in today to be brushed and made presentable ready for Summer, if it ever bothers to make an appearance.

Everyone was unhelpfully pratting about so we tied them all up seperately.

And they stood quietly, some creating mess as they did.

When the Minions had come out of their field, they had not been kind to Lambie – he had insisted on coming to the field with us.  They had chased him home so he cleverly took refuge in a safe place under the harness.

Daisy brushed while I coated everyone’s manes and tails liberally in coconut oil and trimmed some long tails.

Tiddles is work-in-progress though he did floof up beautifully.  I have one bag of foal fur already.  Any takers?

Waffle loved being brushed and would stand forever happily.  He was no trouble at all (apart from the Lambie debacle).

Silver remembered last year’s fuss about brushing and then quickly put it behind him.  He is becoming a very handsome chap.

And Storm remains Storm.  Still the same silly hair-do, still the same worried eyes and still bottom of the herd.  Tiddles is the boss of him now.

Lambie looked to BeAnne for his salvation and safety.  He adores her and follows her everywhere.  BeAnne remains troubled by this as she likes having a disciple, just not a lamb-type one.  What if someone saw?

Doing the rounds today so we checked up on the last remaining Thordale Shetland pony girls –  Lyra, Vitamin and Delia.  Two old Shetland pony mares and one young filly.

Obviously Lyra made her bee-line for her one love, Daisy.

I think it because they both have the same hair style and can relate to this.

I left them to bond.  It is what they both do best – their Mutual Appreciation Society.

Both of them are a pair of soppy dates.  Lyra doesn’t care about anyone else (human) like she does Daisy.   She always has done, even as a foal.  The rest of us never had a look in.

Mother and daughter are not very alike but still very close.  I think they always will be.  Vitamin will have no more foals and Lyra was the one she waited for all these years.  Two dead foals in succession and then Lyra, makes her extra special and wanted.  I would hate to split them up or split up Lyra from Daisy.

Meanwhile, Lambie has taken up residence under a table in the sitting room.  He is loving his daily walks and is a fully paid-up member of our family, despite what my OH says.

The Bear Grylls Challenge – as created by Daisy and participated in by Lambie (and Daisy coz he is not doing it on his own!)

This is tough-love Lambie physiotherapy and it will help make Lambie stronger in his legs.

No more sitting in front of the fire never moving, Lambie is up and at ’em for a good 30 minutes, over hill and down dale.

He is asked to jump, gallop and tackle a variety of obstacles invented by Daisy, which he does with aplomb and enthusiasm.  Look at him go!  I can see Lamb of the Year Show beckoning.

Accompanying this army assault course is Loki and somewhere at the back loitering with resentment, BeAnne.

We went down the track, back up the track (Jack’s walk) and then into the hill.

There were various stop-off points for nibbling moss and investigating (Lambie, not us) and all these Daisy had incorporated into the assault course schedule.

After climbing every mountain and fording every stream, we took Lambie into the school where Daisy was warming up Taktur, her Icelandic stallion, before his training.

Lambie and BeAnne sweetly sat together and watched like Mother and Son.

After 20 minutes, when Taktur was officially warmed up, they all stopped and got to know each other.  I had put Lambie on the upturned jump bucket in the hopes I could teach him some circus tricks.

Enjoy the Bear Grylls-Lambie Challenge.  He works very hard at it and is a determined little boy.

Heathrow airport at noon and I am leaving to go back home to Shetland.

I am not sorry to say goodbye to England but I am very sorry to say goodbye to my parents.  Door-to-door, it was 7 hours.  I managed the start of a migraine in Aberdeen but a bottle of water sorted it out. Instead of armrest wars, I sat next to nose-pick man.  Ew.   But, as Daisy says, at least he was self-contained and recycling!

Everyone was was pleased to see me home.  Lambie is much, much bigger.  I would say he has doubled in size.

He is wearing a collar now as it makes him easier to grab as he goes on his travels off to do some wickedness.  I sense he also has an attitude too.  Perhaps we are going through the stroppy teenage phase.

Lambie still looks to BeAnne and follows her.  She is teaching him his manners but as she doesn’t have many, it is not an arduous task.

They are almost the same size now.

I briefly saw some ponies and my heart lifted.  Life, as I know it, is back to my normal.  BeAnne, though, is a little stroppy with me for going away.

Mum and I went on an expedition to a mahoosive garden centre place in Bagshot this morning.

It really was an incredible place.  Do you know you can buy flip flops that have plastic grass for the soles?  Why?  What am I missing?  There were piles of them and Mum and I laughed,

Plants everywhere and beautifully presented,. You could build an instant garden if you had enough money.

Complete with Julius Caeser!

Instead we bought plants for Mum’s garden, which she spent the afternoon planting out.

And because I love this little chap, I bought him a furry thing because every Patterdale terrier should have one.

He was very appreciative and it instantly became his best friend forever!

I am home tomorrow and I love this little chap.  He is perfection and I will miss him desperately.  Since I arrived, he waits every morning outside my bedroom door to wake up. A darling lad.